Haibane Renmei

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Haibane Renmei

Postby paizuri » Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:18 am

This is the official Haibane Renmei discussion thread.
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Postby Magicannpn » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:55 pm

I have recently seen the entire series, and I think this is the best anime series that I know of. I found several excellent fansites for the series with very good theories. Because I cannot read Japanese, does anyone know what the Japanese fans have to say about this series? Particularly what theories they have.
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Postby Lovely Rei » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:16 pm

I have no idea what the Japanese think and personaly really don't care. This is mainly because I love the series and I don't think it should matter what the Japanese think. They may think the same way that the American audience does, it's not like we're THAT different.
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Postby SarahtheBoring » Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:46 am

Whoa. I think you need to relax a bit - Magicannpn just sounded curious. Nothing wrong with that. A fight on a Haibane thread would be so wrong as to unravel the fabric of the universe itself, you know.

Ahem.

I just bought this series after watching it all on rental, and hope to have something pseudo-intelligent to say after watching it again. I only remember that I loved the understated art style, human characterization, combination of mundane details and wider-scale backstory, and the fact that it doesn't need to overexplain itself while still being internally / thematically consistent (well, as far as I could tell after one viewing). Just lovely.
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Postby Scintilla » Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:01 am

I've only seen it once through completely, but from what I remember, the little things are what make this series so endearing... like the invention of donuts. ^_^

It's just such a fascinating world to explore, and while there are plenty of unanswered questions, the series really doesn't seem too short (or too long).

The soundtrack's really nice too.
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Postby Willen » Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:51 am

I think if the whole Haibane "thing" was explained, the series would lose it's charm. The whole thing really works because the reason for the Haibanes existence is a mystery.

It is like a magic show. If you were knew how they did the tricks you would enjoy it less because you'd be looking at the performance for its technical aspects instead of just being entertained.

Plus, the reason for their being is more background and setting than the main focus which is the relationships between the characters. And, I think people like to draw cute girls (and guys) with wings. :)
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Postby Scintilla » Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:32 am

Willen wrote:And, I think people like to draw cute girls (and guys) with wings. :)

Well, if Evangelion fanart and Escaflowne (TV) are any indications, then I fully support that trend. :wink:
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Postby Lovely Rei » Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:46 pm

[align=center]Spoilers!!!![/align]

Oh god do I wish they explained what the Haibane were and why they were stuck in the town. And I'd also like to know why the walls had power. There was so much unexplianed. I mean the inthe first part they kept questioning it but after Kuu died they focused more on character development and didn't really care about what was going on with the world and stuff. Oh well.
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Postby lilgumba » Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:21 am

I don't know. I think that character building was part of how to understand their world. I've heard people say that the sinbound haibane might have been people who committed suicide in their past lives and so are trapped in sin until they find redemption as a haibane and leave to go to the outside world. Part of discovering their redemption is through knowing themselves and how they interact with each other. Those interactions effect their world. (Reiki is a good example of this and probably why she got a lot of focus later.) Well that's one theory anyway.

Regardless, it's a good show that you want to come back to eventually. By it being so open ended you can really let your imagination go wild with theories and what would happen to the ones that left and the ones that stayed. That's what makes the show so good.
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Postby SarahtheBoring » Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:36 pm

That was what I thought after I watched it, too. I also imagined that Rakka jumped to her death and that someone still loved her and tried to stop her, and that Reki was run over by a train. But I'm a morbid SOB, and made it up just musing about it, so don't take that as anything meaningful. :p

Though that leaves the question of what the other Haibane are or were. I can't take my idea with any more than a grain of salt, because it makes little sense when applied to the child Haibane.

Aaaand I like the open-endedness. Because I like meandering about ideas of what it could be, rather than nailing it down to one meaning. Like seeing pictures in clouds. Some series are really good for that sort of meta-entertainment.

On the cute people with wings front, this series is a different take on it than usual, which is interesting - they don't fly and they aren't majestic. It's a down-to-earth sort of otherworldliness.
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Postby Willen » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:00 pm

I think the wings are to give the idea that the Haibane are living another life. Filling a need or completing a task that they had in their previous life. Plus, it's cute. And you get an excuse to do this:
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with apologies to Scintilla who originally posted this pic on anther thread

:D
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Postby Isenfolme » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:54 am

I finished watching Haibane Renmei about a month ago, and fell deeply in love with it. It's this series that has inspired me to quit lurking on this site and actually get the gumption together to try making an amv myself. Of course, that may be a good or bad thing depending... *g*

Back to the point...

I think Haibane Renmei works on two levels. The first level is as a metaphor for life in general - how we all live in an essentially enclosed world and must work to find our way through it. That's the obvious one.

The second level, the "real" story if you like, I think is as Willen said - the Haibane living out a second life, finishing up something that was left undone in their first lives. I don't think the cocoon dream has to reflect how the individual Haibane each died. After all, although it's easy to see how that might apply to Reki and Rakka it's much harder to make the connection for the other Haibane like Hikari and Nemu. Rather, I think they more likely reflect the personalities of the Haibane, and the thing that they have to work through in their new lives. The town itself is like a stepping stone between earth and heaven (or life and death if you're not religiously inclined).

Mainly though, I think the series is about salvation. It's about the fact that you can't save yourself from your darkness by your own actions, but need to rely on someone else to help you. Salvation requires both that you recognise you need help and accept it, and that you somehow receive that help - something made clear in the cases of Reki and Rakka respectively. As an exploration of salvation I think Haibane Renmei does a fabulous job, and in fact does better than many of the theological texts I've read. I'm not sure that anyone other than someone like myself who spends far too long each day trying to analyse the nature of grace would appreciate the theology of the series above anything else, but that's me, I guess.

*returns to thesis...*
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Postby nekozumi_onigiri » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:25 am

I bought the second DVD (because I couldn't find the first) and it was amazing. I love the art and the unique storyline, the character designs are great too. It's so captivating and cozy, but so sad. Even in the happy moments there's an underlying tone of sadness.
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Postby musashi1600 » Sat Apr 22, 2006 7:53 pm

Lovely Rei wrote:[align=center]Spoilers!!!![/align]

Oh god do I wish they explained what the Haibane were and why they were stuck in the town.


They didn't have to explicitly explain it; they dropped enough hints for you you draw your own conclusions while leaving room for interpretation. IMO, that's better than just coming out and explaining it. :D
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